By BEX Staff for AZBEX
The complicated process surrounding S3 Biotech’s master-planned District at Copper Sky development may now be a little simpler following a trio of recent approvals from the Maricopa City Council.
The City terminated development agreements with S3 Biotech and Copper Sky Hotel and Residential Group for a mixed-use medical campus in November because the companies were taking too long to build, according to City Manager Rick Horst.
Maricopa issued three solicitations for the land associated with the medical campus, all of which were due Dec. 5. According to the DATABEX project database entries on the subject, the first solicitation covered development of a specialty ER Hospital, surgery center and medical offices.” The second dealt with “development of the medical campus with the balance of the land for retail, commercial, hotel, housing, and mixed-use.” The third covered a “0.9-acre parcel that connects to the other two parcels and would not be for individual development on its own.”
All three items were on the consent agenda for a special Maricopa City Council meeting on Dec. 12. Council approved a purchase and sale agreement and escrow instructions for the sale of four acres to S3 Biotech LLC for $1.375M, a purchase and sale agreement and escrow instructions for the sale of 4.7 acres to Copper Sky Hotel and Residential Group, LLC for $1.468M, and Purchase and Sale Agreement and Escrow Instructions with Copper Sky Extended Care, LLC for the sale of approximately .89 acres for $290.8K.
The items were approved on a unanimous vote.
According to the purchase and sale agreement: “The developer must construct a Medical Campus with a Specialty ER Hospital with approximately 25-120 beds, a surgery center including ambulatory surgery and cath lab and Medical Offices to provide a variety of medical services of approximately 100,000-250,000 square feet as well as all necessary improvements including, but not limited to, parking, which will provide 24/7 operations and be open for business on or before June 30, 2025. Horizontal work must start on or before 3/30/24.
“In addition, they must construct (1) a hotel with approximately 125 beds, (2) a smart parking structure for approximately 280 cars, (3) a luxury condominium building consisting of approximately 7 floors (on top of podium parking) with 10 units per floor as well as all necessary improvements including, but not limited to, parking.”
A related master plan under the overall umbrella—the District 3 at Copper Sky Innovation Campus—which is planned to include multifamily, office, medical, and athletic retail space on 12 acres, is not mentioned in the agreements and no additional information is currently available about its status.
Maricopa-area news outlets reported S3 Biotech has partnered with real estate and construction group The BR Companies and quoted Horst as saying the partnership now resolves earlier funding issues that had hindered progress with the development. “They brought the money to the table,” he said. “That’s the big difference. The money is there now.”
